Johnson, who is himself a former NBA player, said in a news conference that he is working to put together an ownership group of Sacramentans, plus some outside money, to make an offer for the Kings. Wednesday was the first time it truly appeared the Kings were up for sale, Johnson said.

“We will do everything we can to put ourselves in the driver’s seat,” Johnson said. “There’s no guarantees. We’re in a fight.”

The deadline for finding a Sacramento-based buyer, it seems, is March 1 — the last day that NBA owners can submit relocation plans to the league. But Johnson said he had not yet talked to NBA Commissioner David Stern on the topic.

Johnson said he has not been privy to the reported discussions between Seattle arena investor Chris Hansen and the Maloofs, the family that currently owns the Kings. Johnson said he had called the Maloofs earlier Wednesday but had not heard back, and doesn’t know why the Maloofs might want to sell the NBA team.

“This community deserves to have an NBA team,” Johnson said, adding that Wednesday’s news represents a big opportunity for Sacramento to retain the franchise if he can help put together a local ownership group.

Meanwhile, during a news conference in which he announced his re-election campaign, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said of the situation: ”I know as much as you do. If it’s true, ain’t it cool?”

Updated 5:55 p.m.: Here’s Johnson’s official statement:

Today is a significant day for our community because for the first time it appears that the Kings are for sale. This is significant because for the past 27 years the community has staunchly supported both the NBA and the Kings. Last year, the City presented a deal that was approved by the NBA that would keep the Kings in Sacramento, increase the value of the franchise, and create additional jobs and economic growth in Sacramento and the region as a whole. Following in the steps of our previous efforts, I plan on making every effort to identify a potential buyer that would ensure the Kings remain in Sacramento.

On Wednesday morning, Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Hansen was close to a deal with the Maloofs to purchase the struggling NBA team for approximately $500 million. But there were many conflicting reports.

In the hour following Wojnarowski’s initial report, numerous other news sources independently confirmed the Kings deal as done or close to done. However, as the day continued, more reports surfaced that said the deal may be a month away, and warned that it could fall through.

KING/5′s Chris Daniels told 710 ESPN Seattle radio that Hansen and the Kings owners have been talking for months and things “heated up over the last 24 hours,” but it’s not yet a done deal. Meanwhile, CBS/13 Sacramento reporter Steve Large said his sources suggest Hansen’s offer was rejected by the Maloofs, the family that currently owns the Kings.

The Sacramento Bee reported that the Maloofs are in discussions with Hansen’s group, but that the talks have been “conceptual,” according to one source, and that Wednesday’s media reports about a pending sale are “premature,” another source said. The Bee reported that Hansen had not actually made an offer yet.

The Maloofs have had a tendency to pull out of deals at the last minute. In February 2012, after Seattle’s arena proposal was first unveiled, the Maloofs reached a tentative deal with the city of Sacramento to keep the Kings there, but then wavered when they found “unresolved issues” in Sacramento’s plan to build a new sports venue. The brouhaha led outgoing NBA Commissioner David Stern to declare that the Maloof-Sacramento deal would not happen.

Wojnarowski’s report follows a night of hot rumors that the Kings had sold to Hansen and were bound for Seattle. The Maloofs denied the rumor; a spokesman told the Sacramento Bee, “The rumors regarding the team being sold are simply not true.”

The news also comes a day after Virginia Beach, Va., announced that the city was no longer planning to build a sports arena in the near future, effectively removing itself from the sweepstakes for a new NBA team. Seattle is now considered the front-runner for the possibly relocation of a pro-basketball franchise, with the Kings as the most likely target.